Unmasked
by TheFirstMrsHummel
Summary: Just a short little one-shot exploring what might have been going through Kurt's mind as he watched Karofsky join in the halftime show.  No Kurtofsky romance or attraction; sticking close to cannon this time around.


_**OMG, so, SuperBowl episode was…so freaking EPIC and full of win. So much Dave, so much love, I just… *flails* I just had to write this little one shot, 'cause Max Adler's incredible acting in this episode has me SO INSPIRED! You can't tell me Kurt didn't notice who took the field shortly after the halftime show started, and this is my guess as to what he might have been thinking.**_

_**Apologies to anyone expecting anything romantic, BTW. In cannon, I think our boys are quite a ways from that sort of thing.**_

_Off with your head…_ Santana's voice rang out over the PA system. _Da dance, dance, dance, 'till you're dead!_

Kurt was trying to appear cool and collected, but inside he was totally flipping out. New Directions, along with what appeared to be the rest of the football team, was doing a mash-up of _Thriller_ and _Heads Will Roll_. In full zombie makeup and costuming. Sure, he was grateful for being able to escape the bullying by attending Dalton, and was starting to finally feel at least a little at home as a Warbler. But in that very moment, watching his former glee club tear it up in yet another over-the-top but phenomenal performance? He was so, so jealous. He wished he could be out there with them more than anything. Blaine looked pretty amazed at the spectacle, and rightly so. _This is our competition_, Kurt thought. _And they so kick our prim little private school asses._

Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt caught a flash of red on the other side of the stadium, bright against the dull grey of the chain link fence. Looking across, he saw the one person he'd really been hoping to not catch sight of on this excursion back to the McKinley campus. Dave Karofsky. The red was the plaid shoulders of his weirdly kind of fashionable sleeveless quilted vest, worn over a dark hoodie. Kurt cringed back a little, hoping Karofsky wouldn't notice him in the stands, but it was pretty obvious after a moment that Karofsky's gaze was going nowhere except the singing and dancing on the field. Kurt thought he must be hallucinating, because there was no way he was actually seeing such naked longing in Karofsky's eyes as he watched the performance.

Kurt knew that Karofsky had originally planned on being on that field himself. After talking to Rachel and Mercedes, he'd made his way to Finn's room that night without the customary mug of warm milk. Instead of angling for a "lady chat", Kurt stood in the doorway of Finn's bedroom, expression entirely serious and arms folded. "Please tell me what's going on with the football team, Finn," he said. "I don't know if you feel like talking about it will make you weak, or if you think I'm too weak to handle talking about it with you." Finn looked up at him, with the sad and confused expression that used to make Kurt a little tingly, but now just made him worried. "You said we were brothers now, and we are. So just tell me what the hell is going on at McKinley, please."

Sighing, Finn filled Kurt in on everything that had been going down, up to and including Karofsky's suggestion for a warm up zombie number, and what had happened with the hockey team afterwards. Kurt looked at Finn, puzzled by the warm look on his face when he described how Karofsky had actually reached out to him, after so many months of antipathy. And how Finn thought Kaofsky could actually hold his own quite nicely when it came to singing and dancing. _Great,_ thought Kurt. _Our parents have to actually get __**married**__ for Finn to not visibly wince when I get too close to him, but Karofsky busts a move once and it's the bromance of the century. Whatever._ But then Finn had told Kurt about how the Karofsky's former teammates had accosted them in the hallway, allowing Karofsky and the other jock bullies to finally experience how frigging awful a slushie facial was. Kurt ordinarily would have enjoyed all of them - but particularly Karofsky - getting a taste of their own medicine. But he was subdued by Finn's telling him that one of the hockey players had tauntingly accused Karofsky had of having been turned gay. He didn't know for sure, but he was willing to bet that the comment had felt like a knife in the older boy's gut, and made him feel as if exposure could come at any moment.

But what Kurt _did_ know was that Karofsky was pretty much dying to join in on the halftime performance. He looked to the stands behind him, as if in disbelief that people were whooping and cheering in approval of the spectacle. He even moved his head almost imperceptibly to the beat. Kurt shrugged and turned his attention back to the field, but found his eyes drawn back to Karofsky again. He didn't know why he had any interest in whatever internal conflict the larger boy was experiencing. One would think he'd had enough witnessing the backlash from that for a lifetime. Maybe it was because he knew he was safe now, unseen in the crowded stands by Karofsky, and protected from his abuse at Dalton. Or maybe it was just the strangeness of seeing something other than an intimidating scowl or nasty smile on his bully's face. Maybe… Kurt thoughts stopped for a moment as a silly, toothy grin broke across Karofsky's face. The look on his face was so open and unguarded, like a mask had suddenly fallen from the older boy's face.

_Why doesn't he just do it_? Kurt thought. He didn't know how Karofsky was resisting what he obviously wanted so badly. Just when he was sure that the grin would fade away and a meaner, more familiar expression would take its place as he stormed off the sidelines, it instead got bigger than Kurt could have imagined as Karofsky caved in. He whipped the quilted vest off and started running towards his performing classmates, yanking a tattered jersey over his head and smiling in what could only be described as pure delight. Kurt watched as Karofsky slapped hands with Finn and took his place among the dancers. Trying to appear like he wasn't focusing all of his attention on #77, Kurt raised his hands into claw shapes and swung them back and forth a little, so it would look to anyone watching like he was just absorbed in the performance as a whole. In reality though, he was simply riveted on whoever or whatever Dave Karofsky had suddenly morphed into.

Finn was right about one thing. Karofsky could _dance_. He had…moves. It was one thing to hear about it. But to watch that hulking figure, previously assumed to be good for nothing except slamming roughly into people and things, deftly stepping and posing perfectly on cue as he executed the choreography? Kurt could hardly believe his eyes. And the myriad of expressions that flitted across Karofsky's face, so easy to observe due to his lack of stage makeup, were too numerous to count. Who could have guessed that he was capable of so many, or the feelings that caused them? Sometimes he was perfectly in zombie character; other times, you could just tell Karofsky thought he was totally kicking ass in the number. And sometimes, he would just smile so happily, Kurt hardly recognized him.

Kurt knew what it was like to feel all those emotions swirling within you when you performed; the adrenaline sending pride, joy and just plain fabulousness practically shooting out of your pores towards the audience. Admittedly, he'd felt it less since becoming a Warbler, but he hoped that eventually the the feeling of being completely transported would return to him at Dalton. He remembered it well, though, and it made him feel strange to think of Karofsky having those feelings. Although Kurt's sympathy for Karofsky was understandably limited, he knew that constantly feeling the need to lie and hide all the time must be a pretty miserable way to go through life. It didn't excuse what he'd done, how he'd acted out and lashed out at Kurt. But he thought it was okay to feel a little sorry about the underlying cause. Especially since he now had proof that Karofsky was absolutely capable of being happy as a result of something that wasn't destructive or hurtful.

The song came to an end, and Kurt found himself jumping up and down with excitement, cheering on the performers. All of them, even Dave Karofsky. He watched as Karofsky hugged his friend Azimio, and it was miles away from the usual _honestly-this-is-so-completely-the-opposite-of-gay_, manly-man physical contact Kurt had seen them share after a successful football play or slushie attack. It was genuine and heartfelt, and the blissful look on Karofsy's face as he basked in the approval, adoration and acceptance of the crowd and his classmates made Kurt's chest tighten. Karofsky looked…free. Completely free from whatever demons must torture him as he stayed so stubbornly inside that hellish closet. In that moment, Kurt thought he might cry, because he knew he was seeing a glimpse of what could have been. If Karofsky hadn't needed to conform like most people needed air or water. If he could have accepted his and Blaine's (admittedly awkward and ill-timed) offer of help and support. If instead of the physical and mental abuse escalating wildly, it had in fact tapered off significantly after that damn kiss. If Karofsky would stop being _Karofsky_, and instead just be Dave.

Kurt watched the football team and glee club exit from the field, still jubilant and excited from the amazing performance. He wondered what would happen now. Would Coach Beiste let the non-glee players come back for the second half? Finn had told Kurt he thought she might, if they changed their minds and did the halftime show. And speaking of glee, Kurt wondered if they might have a new member soon. He didn't care how deep in denial Karofsky was; from what he'd observed, there was no way that Karofsky wouldn't want badly to recapture those moments of pure, perfect joy. Whether he could be strong or brave enough to take the risk in order to do it was of course another matter entirely. But now that he'd had a taste of it, Kurt knew the desire to sing and dance and _perform_ would haunt Karofsky. Kurt wondered if maybe, when The Warblers went up against New Directions at Regionals, he might once again come face to face with Dave Karofsky.

He thought that as long as it was the same Dave he'd gotten peek at tonight, it might not bother him at all.

_**It was really fun to write such a short little one-shot, based on a single scene from the show. Please review and let me know what you thought of it. :)**_

_**I have another one in mind, a slightly angsty one centering on what Dave was doing on Valentine's Day while everyone else was at Kurt's Lonely Hearts party at Breadstix. Nor terribly original, I know, but I'd love to hear if you might be interested in something along those lines.**_


End file.
